stultify
1 of 1verb/ˈstəl.tə.ˌfaɪ/
Forms:stultifies,stultifying,stultified,stultified
1
to make someone lose interest or motivation, typically due to a boring or restrictive routine
transitive- The monotonous job stultified his creativity.
- His attempt to over-explain the simple concept only served to stultify the audience.
- The repetitive tasks often stultify him.
- She has stultified herself by staying in the same job for too long.
- By the time I left the company, the strict policies had already stultified my passion for the job.
2
to make someone or something worthless or ineffective
transitive- His constant interruptions stultified the entire discussion.
- The lack of proper training stultified their efforts to succeed.
- The outdated equipment stultified the factory's production line.
- His inability to focus stultified his chances of passing the test.
- The poorly written report stultified the team’s hard work.
Synonyms:
3
to make someone or something appear as ridiculous, stupid, or absurd
transitive- The comedian’s jokes were designed to stultify the pretentiousness of the local elites.
- The film's amateurish special effects stultified what could have been an exciting plot.
- The absurd suggestion stultified the entire conversation.
- The more he spoke, the more he stultified his own position.
- His inability to answer simple questions stultified his reputation.
4
to declare someone mentally unfit or incapable of being held responsible for their actions
transitive- The lawyer tried to stultify the defendant by questioning his mental state.
- The court ruled to stultify him after examining his psychological reports.
- The psychiatrist’s testimony helped to stultify the defendant’s actions in court.
- The family tried to stultify him, citing his declining mental health.
- The judge decided not to stultify the defendant, deeming him fully responsible.